High Truths and Low Lies

I watch football. I usually tape a few games each week and watch at night. That way I do not have to watch the commercials and the non-play segments. The NFL is in the entertainment industry, and professional football is hugely watched. But I think the broadcasts can be improved. Here are my suggestions to improve the NFL telecasts:

1. Change out the broadcasters. I am very tired of hearing from Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Tony Dungy, Boomer Esiason, Rodney Harrison, Pam Oliver, Troy Aikman (boring), and all the rest. Announcers must use proper grammar. Pick ex-players that have keen insights into the game. And that have some enthusiasm for the game.
2. Halftime segments are boring and loaded with commercials. A good time to eat and pee! Can’t believe Jason Garrett is in the broadcast. Who hired him? Another boring commentator.
3. Huge mistake to move Thursday night broadcast to Prime streaming. Guess it was all about the $$$$’s.
4. Head coaches should look very professional. I want to see the head coaches in suit and tie. Currently many are shown being 30lbs overweight, and unshaven. They look like they slept in their cars. Matt Ruhle in an example.
5. Can the league teach players not to “hold?” Every broadcast there are 3-5 holding calls. Same with pass interference. This is sloppy football and slows down the game. Also, teach players about the “neutral zone.” I don’t want to see that penalty anymore.
6. The commercials are nauseating. I do not want to see that woman from Progressive Insurance ever again. Get some new ads and new sponsors. That damn lizard selling insurance makes me ill.
7. I don’t like the split screen, seems schizophrenic. I can’t really see either image.
8. On a positive note-really like Eli and Peyton. Both a smart and funny.
9. Lastly, I do not want to see any social or political messages on helmets. Just want to see high quality football.

We are decades away for eliminating fossil fuels. Here is just one reason why.

September 15, 2022

Wind turbines are part of the Green Party plan. The fools believe we can end our national reliance of fossil fuels in the near future. They say we should invest in wind power. Impossible!!

Wind turbines are 300 to 500 feet tall. The blades are 175 feet long. To construct one turbine requires 200 tons of concrete, 100 tons of steel and 1000’s of pounds of resin filled plastic (not recyclable).

Concrete is made of cement, aggregate and sand. Cement is made by clinkering limestone and other minerals in a super-heated rotary kiln. The kiln is heated with natural gas!!!! The minerals are mined using heavy equipment and large crushing machines powered by diesel fuel. It takes a tremendous amount of fossil fuels to make concrete.

This is a picture of a limestone mining operation!!! Can you imagine the environmental impact?

Steel is made from iron ore and carbon. The ore is melted in blast furnaces at a temperature of 2600 F. These blast furnaces are fueled with natural gas. The mining of iron ore is done using mega machines fueled by diesel oil. Then, the ore is transported, often across oceans, using super cargo ships. The ships are powered by diesel fuel.

All industrial plastic comes from oil and natural gas. Crude oil/natural gas is “cracked” into many different forms of ethylene or propylene. The “cracking” requires high temperatures and pressures. Heat for this process is often provided by natural gas.

Without fossil fuels wind turbines cannot be made. The US must have a domestic source of fossil fuels. We cannot rely on Russia, Saudia Arabia or China.

Mecklenburg County, NC would need 100+ wind turbines just for residential use. Where will they be located??? And-each turbine will cost about $3 million.

Footnote-Please explain this to AOC!

September 9, 2022

These events and observations reached the top of list……

-Saddened by the death of Queen Elizabeth. She reigned for 70 years with dignity, class, service, and honor. No family in the history of the world has donated more money to charity than the royal family in Britian. Long live the new King Charles III.

-Mikhail Gorbachev passed away on 8/30 at age 91. He was the President of Soviet Union until 1991 when he dissolved the union and ended the Cold War. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. Gorbachev was responsible for re-uniting Germany (East and West). He was born very poor. His life should be celebrated in the US as one of the most influential leaders of the 21st century. He toured the US with President Reagan and was a hailed as a true hero.

-AOC is on the cover of a men’s magazine. Glancing through the article proves once again how stupid she truly is.

-BYU hoax won’t die. Absolutely no proof of any wrongdoing. Extensive investigation is complete. Duke player’s godmother who lives in Texas, and is a racist, filed the charge. BYU did not find any evidence on video or audio, nor has anyone corroborated the claim. The player on the volleyball court said she heard the “N” word shouted from the student section, but no other students, sitting shoulder to shoulder, heard the shouts. Over 50 students were questioned. None heard the alleged racial slur. Maybe Jussie Smollett can counsel the player.

-Stephen A. Smith is a racist. Not sure how he keeps his broadcasting job!

-John Fetterman is running for US Senate in PA. He has never held a real job; his parents are wealthy and supported him for years. He served as mayor of Braddock, Pa (population 1,176) for 8 years. That town is dying. His major campaign promise is to empty the state prisons. Plus, sadly, he has suffered a stroke. Will not debate his opponent. He is absolutely unqualified and incapable of serving as a US Senator.

-Career criminal killed young kindergartner teacher and mother of 2 in Memphis. A senseless act. The blame goes to the city’s criminal justice system. Period.

-teacher unions are destructive to the US educational system. In Charlotte NC, there are 50 schools rated as “low performing”

-Biden’s speech was despicable. A sitting president should inspire and praise citizens.

– a small loaf of sour dough bread costs $5.99: one year ago, I paid $3.99.

-Kathy Griffin is an angry, stupid and irrelevant person. I bet she could not tell you the actual dates of the US Civil War. It’s easy to say outrageous and nasty things and claim to be a comedian! Remember when she held the bloody fake head of President Trump??? She should have been arrested.

Finally-This is Ezekiel Kelly. He is 19 and this week went on a killing spree in Memphis, killing 4 and injuring 3, while videoing the shootings and posting on Facebook. Sadly, he was released early from prison in March, serving just 11 months for attempted murder. Kelly is a career criminal. Our justice system is responsible for these shootings.

For 2022, the average teacher’s pay in North Carolina is $56,381! See the chart above for teachers pay and benefits from 2011 to 2020. The most remarkable data is the pension plan. Also note the “Total Compensation” number at the bottom right corner.

North Carolina teachers have a very “rich” defined benefit pension plan. Teachers can retire after 20 years and are vested in the plan after 5 years. Defined benefit pension plans were ended for corporate America years ago. Companies could no longer afford to fund these “rich” plans.

Regarding pay: Teachers in North Carolina work 175 days. That is 175 days of instruction or about 35 weeks. So, for instructional days, their average pay is $56,381 or $1,610/week. If teachers worked 48 weeks a year (4 weeks off/year) their pay would be $77,322 plus all the above benefits.

In NC, teachers get 11 paid holidays, 19 workdays, 10 annual leave days, 4-5 early release days, and about 9.5 weeks off in the summer. In summary, NC teachers work about 67% of the school year. I have 3 daughters working in corporate America that work 49 weeks a year and earn less than $77,000. And their benefits are not equal to NC teachers.

Yet, we continue to hear about low pay for teachers. I disagree! Counting all the benefits, I think teachers are well paid. Period!

PS-teachers work about 7 hours/day. Most begin their day at 8:30am and end at 3:30pm. Most teach 5 classes per day, each 45-50 minutes, or 250 minutes/day, about 4.2 hours of actual teaching per day. My daughters work 8.5-9 hours a day!

PSS-I don’t care about how NC teachers’ pay compares to other states or the national average. Companies located in NC don’t pay their employees based on similar jobs in other states. Think about it! Do HV/AC technicians in NC demand that they be paid similar to technicians in Wisconsin???

August 20, 2022

Just a few of my thoughts for the week in no particular order:

1. Goodbye to Liz Cheney. She used her father’s name to gain appointments and political favor. Her large campaign donations came from Russian oil. Read about her on Wikipedia.
2. Deshaun Watson has been disciplined by the NFL. Finally!!!
3. More spending will not reduce the inflation rate. Period. My taxes are going up!
4. The IRS will have more agents than most all other Federal Departments. Madness. Those agents will be unionized and vote for the Democrats.
5. Randi Weingartner runs the big teacher’s union. She is a radical political activist. That union donated $40 million to the Democrats. Why??? Maybe that $$$$ could have gone to teacher pensions.
6. Sorry that Lamont Dozier has passed away. I loved all his songs.
7. Big shake-up at CNN. Many fools are being fired. Brian Stelter is prime example. He is a complete idiot!!!!
8. The FBI and the CDC are corrupt. Massive changes required.
9. Kamala Harris is such a fool. Yet another example of how wrong affirmative action is!
10. Crime is a huge problem across the US. Rates of violent crime at record levels. Seems repeat offenders are most frequently cited in news stories. Democratic run cities have the most problems. Charlotte, NC has a new record of homicides. No where do I see aggressive changes being made to reduce crime. Did you see the “sucker punch” in NYC? The thug was wearing lead gloves.
11. Glad Gov. Greg Abbott is sending illegals to DC and NYC. Pictures show young, healthy, men arriving in those sanctuary cities. They do not look like refugees.
12. Fentanyl is extremely dangerous and coming across our southern border. Yet Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas says the border is secure. He must be punished for his incompetence. He should be impeached and arrested for gross neglect.
13. Red Wave is coming! Thank God!

Fernando Tatis, Jr. is a 23-year-old baseball player from the Dominican Republic. He plays shortstop for the San Diego Padres. He began his MLB career in 2019. In 2021 the Padres signed him to a 14-year, $340 million contract. That is the 3rd highest contract in MLB history. That season Tatis made the All-Star team.

Regrettably and stupidly, Tatis broke his wrist in December of 2021 while riding a motorcycle in the DR. When a reporter asked Tatis when the accident occurred, Tatis said “which one?” Tatis has not played 1 game this season. Great teammate-UGH!

On August 12th Tatis tested positive for anabolic steroids, a performance enhancing drug. MLB suspended Tatis. The suspension is for 80 games which will run into the playoffs and to next season. Tatis will miss this entire season and part of next year. I wonder what the Padres are thinking about their $340 million contract.

A reasonable person could conclude that Tatis gained advantage and wealth by using banned drugs. Tatis is a reckless and stupid punk. He let down his teammates, the Padres, MLB, and his fans.

I commend MLB for their drug program and enforcement.

I

August 9th

This is an article about why the world needs the US. to be a strong and powerful country, with a vibrant economy! And a net exporter of energy!

A “super famine” is brewing in Somalia. Famine can be declared if 3 events occur: a major percent of a country’s people is suffering from malnutrition, there is a scarcity of food and certain mortality rates are reached, usually 100,000 deaths. Somalia is headed toward a super famine with deaths expected to exceed 250,00!

The government in Somalia is dysfunctional and the country’s economy is poor. The GDP is $7 billion. For comparison, Vermont has a GDP of $32 billion and is the smallest state economy in the US. Somalia’s economy is the major reason for the famine, but other factors are also present. “The Economist” reports that the world’s most violent terrorist group, al-Shabab, controls the country. The group controls all villages, roads and ports. UN aid workers, and food cannot get through without the consent of al-Shabab. Money has to be paid to this terrorist group! The US pledged $ 476 million in July. Other countries must follow. However, many global countries have laws prohibiting payments to terrorists. Thus, medical aid and food supplies are scarce.

Somalia is also experiencing a drought that has killed livestock and ruined grain production. Somalia imports about 80% of its food. The war in the Ukraine has hurt grain shipments and caused much higher prices. Approximately 40% of Somalians do not have enough to eat. About 1.5 million children are severely malnourished. Somalia experienced the world’s worse famine this century in 2011. This time it’s much worse!

A perfect storm of severe drought, war in the Ukraine, higher prices, a poor economy (fifth poorest in the world), and a violent terrorist group running the country! The UN says Somalia needs $1.5 billion in aid. The US pledged 1/3 of that amount. Other countries need to send aid immediately. Sadly, the aid groups will have to negotiate with al-Shabab.

Lastly, Somalia is the world’s 8th most violent country. Afghanistan is first followed by Yemen! Countries donating money and supplies to Somalia will have to deal with al-Shabab. It’s either give a violent terrorist group bribes or let thousands die. Let’s see what Biden does.

PS-there are 55 countries in Africa. Most of those countries are very poor. The lack of law and order is the main reason!!!

Saturday, August 6th

Biden opened our southern border to illegal immigrants. Since he took office 2-3 million illegals have entered the US, mostly into Texas and Arizona. Those states are overwhelmed. Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, has tried everything to handle this humanitarian crisis. Texas cities are literally flooded with undocumented, unvetted, uneducated, unvaccinated and poor people from about 160 countries.

The cities of Texas are not allowed to send these illegals back! So, Governor Abbott is busing these people to DC and NYC. Makes good sense to me as those cities have designated themselves as “Sanctuary Cities.” The cities have often declared their support for illegals and announcing on TV that illegals are welcome.

But- the mayors of both cities, Eric Adams of NYC and Muriel Bowser of DC, are complaining that their cities are overwhelmed, and have asked the Federal Government for help. Only 4000 illegals have been bused to DC, there are millions in Texas!

For months, Biden has been secretly busing and flying illegals to many US cities. The illegals arrive in various cities at 4am. Security personnel protect those arrivals from the media. No pictures or videos allowed.

I find the busing of illegals to DC and NYC to be amusing and justified. Share the burden. Flood the sanctuary cities and see what happens!

One final comment: illegal immigrants put a huge strain on existing social programs and government agencies. A city like San Antonio, TX, will have to feed, educate, provide medical support, and housing to these illegals. All of those programs are already spread thin. That’s a fact!!!

PS-the illegal trafficking of people across our southern border has cost the lives of hundreds of women and children. The trip is brutal. And, known violent criminals and terrorists have entered our country. This is madness!

Forbes Magazine reported this week that 56 members of Congress owe student loans. Most of the 56 are Democrats. This does not include members of Congress that owe $10,00 or less.

It’s like turkeys voting to cancel Thanksgiving!!! Or homeowners voting to cancel home mortgages. Utterly ridiculous, and very dangerous to the US economy!

This week the national press reported that Congresswoman Williams owes $250,000 in student loans. How is that possible? She graduated from Talladega College in 2002!! She reports to hold a BA in Biology from that 1,300 student, historically Black college. I estimate that the total cost for a year at Talladega College was $10,000 to $12,000 back in the early 2000’s. That would equal about $50,000 in 4 years. Note-Talladega College has a graduation rate of 34%. Horrible!!!

After college, she moved to Atlanta and worked for the Democratic Party. I bet she used student loans to live. There is no record of employment on her webpage. Ugh! She has never held a real job. She ran minor campaigns in GA and got involved in Obama’s campaign in 2008. In 2017 she was elected to the GA State Senate in a “Special Election” when the incumbent left to run for mayor of Atlanta. About a year later she was arrested for protesting outside the GA State Capitol. The charges were dropped in 2019. Hmmmm?

In July 2020, Williams was selected by the Democrats to replace Congressman John Lewis (deceased) as the Democratic candidate in the November 2020 election, representing District 5. Willams handily won as the district is overwhelmingly Democratic. Another gift to Williams.

Since she began serving in US Congress, she has introduced 3 bills to cancel student debt. One is called the “Clean Slate Bill.” That bill would significantly benefit Williams.

She is exactly what’s wrong with Democrats in Congress. She has not earned anything and has no perspective of real life in America.

PS-She was employed by Planned Parenthood in 2003 at age 25 as Vice President of Public Policy. I guess the BA in Biology helped her land that job!!

Yesterday I had lunch at a Chick-fil-A. I chose to eat inside, and the dining area was crowded. Regrettably, I once again observed numerous mothers sitting at tables with their young children while on their cells phones.

One mother had 4 children, ages 10 to 4. The entire time they sat at the table she was on her cell phone. She was not watching her children eat, nor even talking with them. I wonder what was so important on her phone.

I have also observed young people at restaurants sitting at tables, each playing with their phones. Often, these people do not talk to each other, they just play with their phones. If they go to a nice restaurant, why do they not talk to each other??? What exactly is on their phones?

About a week ago, I witnessed a young couple out on a date. The man was on his cell phone, his date just sat there. Why go on a date and not talk?? Maybe phones are an addiction?

I think this practice is rude, and very bad manners. And for parents, it is shameful!